In early April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy making it easier for service members to get approval to carry personal weapons on military bases, a change that could become permanent through proposed legislation. 

U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colorado Springs, introduced a bill Thursday to ensure that commanding officers will review requests from service members to carry guns under the presumption that the request will be granted. If commanding officers refuse to grant a request, the reason must be clearly stated, according to the proposed legislation.  

“For too long, our service members’ Second Amendment right to carry a firearm for personal protection on Department of War property has been hampered by reluctant leadership and bureaucratic hurdles,” Crank said in a news release.

Critics of the change had concerns that more access to firearms on military bases could contribute to suicide among active-duty service members.

During the announcement, Hegseth said that the difficulty in getting a gun has left soldiers unarmed during shootings on military bases. During 2025, five soldiers were killed in a shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia and in 2014 at Fort Hood, four soldiers were killed and 16 were injured. 

Hegseth said soldiers should have had the ability to return fire and save lives.  

“In these instances, minutes are a lifetime, and our service members have the courage and training to make those precious short minutes count,” he said.  

Former El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf, an Air Force veteran, supported the legislation to ensure that the new policy providing greater access to weapons persists beyond the current administration. 

“These are people who are trained how to use firearms safely,” he said. 

Generally, military service weapons are stored in an armory unless they are issued for training, he said, so most service members do not have a military weapon with them on bases in the U.S.

To bring his weapon on base for recreation, such as skeet shooting at MacDill Air Force Base, VanderWerf had to fill out paperwork and get a permit each time. 

The rules are different in a combat zone or an area that is experiencing conflict.

When VanderWerf was in Iraq, he was required to have his service weapon with him, particularly when he left the base. VanderWerf is the president of the Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition, but did not speak on behalf of the group.

Colorado Springs resident Naomi Rockafellow, an Army combat veteran, said she did not support more access to personal guns on bases, especially locally, because the community has significant gun violence and a large military and veteran population.

Any change in policy should be evaluated alongside national gaps in mental health care caused by staffing shortages and burnout, she said. In Colorado Springs, the community has limited mental health resources relative to the number of troops and veterans in need.

“The military is a high-stress environment. Service members often navigate deployments, trauma exposure, sleep deprivation, relationship strain, alcohol misuse and mental health challenges,” she said. “While troops are professionally trained with weapons, that does not eliminate risks associated with increased access to personally owned firearms during moments of crisis or interpersonal conflict.”

The Defense Department policy on carrying personal weapons has evolved with time. In the early 1990s, a rule went into effect stating guns could only be carried for official purposes such as law enforcement, according to Task & Purpose, an online military publication. In 2016, the policy was revised to allow commanders to decide if the service members could be allowed to carry a private firearm for protection. 

The latest change spurred concern from a national nonprofit, Brady: United Against Gun Violence.

More guns on bases could increase the number of active-duty officers who die by suicide, said Tanya Schardt, Brady senior counsel and director of state and federal policy in a statement. Active-duty troops are already at a higher risk of dying by their own hand.

In 2023, 363 active-duty service members took their own lives. Of those, about two-thirds used a firearm, according to a Defense Department report. The number of service members dying by suicide has generally trended up over the past 10 years.

“If Mr. Hegseth’s policy means that far more service members on bases have a personal firearm, easily within reach, we will undoubtedly experience an increase in gun suicide and other gun violence,” Schardt said.